


The Bear Promise

by Tricochet



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Ava has a niece, Build A Bear, Build-A-Bear Workshop, F/F, fluff in every sense of the word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 17:16:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13462845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tricochet/pseuds/Tricochet
Summary: A very unfriendly looking woman walks into Build-A-Bear and asks Sara for help picking out a stuffed animal for her niece.





	1. Chapter 1

Sara hums as she moves one of the stuffed animals to the other side of the display. She smiles as a child points excitedly to a bear with a rainbow gradient. She picks up a discarded toy outfit and puts it back on its shelf.

The door opens slowly, and Sara sees a frowning woman walk inside. She glares around at the gaudy decorations and displays that Sara had just worked on. Sara wants to tell her to leave before she makes a child cry, but the woman marches up to her.

She’s actually quite pretty once Sara looks past the frown lines. She has blonde hair pinned back and Sara can see muscles through her short-sleeved shirt.

“Hello,” Sara says. “Thank you 'fur' coming to Build-a-Bear. What can I help you with today?”

The woman looks even more displeased at Sara’s pun. “I need a present for my niece.”

“Okay,” Sara says, relieved that the woman doesn’t seem to want to cause any trouble. “What’s her name?”

“Eloise,” the woman tells her. “And I’m Ava.”

“Alright. How old is Eloise?”

“She is turning six in a few days.”

“Okay. We can pick out a stuffed animal for her. What does she like?”

“Uh,” Ava says. “I’m not sure?”

“Princesses?”

Ava shakes her head. “She likes animals, I guess.”

“Is she a fan of cutesy things?”

“Sort of, I guess?”

“How about a panda bear?” Sara suggests, taking a panda from a shelf.

Ava looks at it and touches it.

“Why’s it so… limp?”

“Well,” Sara explains, “we have to stuff it and love it first.”

Ava stares at the panda again. Sara grabs an example panda to show her.

“This is what it will look like once we stuff it.”

“Okay. Yeah, I’ll do that.”

“Alright. Do you want it soft or firm?”

“What?” Ava says.

“I’m going to put stuffing in it. Do you want it to be soft or firm?”

“Oh,” Ava says. Her face turns a little red. “Uh, what do most kids like? Can you do it so it’ll, like, stand up by itself? But still soft?”

Sara nods and starts pumping the stuffing machine. She sets the bear down and makes sure it can stand.

“Does it feel okay?” she asks Ava. Ava stares at it uncomfortably before squeezing one of its arms. 

“Uh, yeah. It’s fine.”

“Okay. Do you want a noise in it?”

“No, thanks. I wouldn’t want it to start screaming at three in the morning and scare Eloise.”

“Alright. What about a smell?”

“Vanilla Cupcake?” Ava says, looking at one of the disc. “Sure. What the hel- heck. I’ll take it.”

Sara inserts the scent into the animal’s paw. 

“Now, you have to give it a heart.”

“I have to?” Ava says.

“Yes. You have to,” Sara says with a grin. “Pick one.”

Ava sighs and picks a fabric heart from the bin. She hands it to Sara, but Sara hands it back.

“You have to kiss it.”

Ava frowns and rolls her eyes, but kisses the heart.

“Now put it over your heart.”

Ava glares at her and puts the heart to her chest. 

“And, since Eloise isn’t here, you have to say the Bear Promise for her.”

“The what now?”

“This bear is special…” Sara prompts.

Ava glares at her. Sara waves her hands.

“This bear is special,” Sara says again.

Ava sighs. “This bear is special…”

“I brought it to life.”

“I brought it to life,” Ava says through her teeth.

“I chose it, I stuffed it.”

“I chose it, I stuffed it.”

“Now I’m taking it home.”

“Now I’m taking it home,” Ava grunts. Sara can see that she’s getting increasingly frustrated.

“Best friends are forever…”

Ava lifts one of the hands holding the heart to her chest and sets it on her forehead. “Best friends are forever…”

“So I promise right now…”

“So I promise right now.”

“To make this bear…”

“To make this bear…”

“My number one pal.”

“My number one pal,” Ava repeats. She’s almost spitting. 

Sara smiles and takes the heart from her, inserting it into the bear. “We’re done with that part.”

"Thank God," Ava mutters.

She sews it up quickly and sets it in a fake bathtub.

“Is this really nec-”

“Yes,” Sara interrupts Ava, pretending to clean the bear. “You can work on its birth certificate.”

“What should I name it?” Ava asks. 

“Name it after me,” Sara jokes.

“Is that ‘Sarah’ with an ‘h’ or ‘Sara’ with no ‘h’? Ava asks. 

“No ‘h’,” Sara says. 

Ava starts typing the name and the date into the computer.

Sara looks over Ava’s shoulder. “Sara Beara?” she reads. 

Ava glares at her. “Shut up.”

“So do you want an outfit for Sara Beara?”

“Don’t… don’t say her name. But, uh, yeah.”

“Are you thinking a dress?”

“Sure.”

“Hmm. I’d say something colorful, since Sara Beara is black and white.”

Sara walks to a selection of hanging clothes and picks a purple patterned dress with pink tulle. She grabs a pair of fuchsia sequin heels to go with them and holds them up.

“Do these look good?” Sara asks. 

“Yeah. Thank you so much for your help,” Ava says grumpily, printing out the certificate.

“Of course. Do you want a box to bring her home in?”

Ava nods. Sara finds a miniature house box and rings her up. As Ava walks away with a box in her hand, she almost wishes she hadn’t just put in her two weeks notice.


	2. Chapter 2

Sara adjusts the skins in their tub so they look less dead. It’s a Saturday, and her last day at the job. None of the customers since Ava have engaged Sara anywhere near as much. She sweeps discarded stuffing off the floor. 

The door opens, and Ava steps in. She looks a little less angry than before. A blonde girl walks behind her with her arms around the stuffed bear Sara had stuffed two weeks ago.

“Hi!” Sara says, walking over to them. “Good to see you again, Ava. And you must be Eloise?”

“Yeah,” the little girl says. “And this is Sara Beara.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sara Beara,” Sara says, bending down to pretend to shake the teddy’s hand like they hadn't met. Eloise giggles. 

“So, what brings you back?” Sara asks.

“Eloise likes Sara Beara so much that she wants her to have a friend,” Ava says. “And she’s graduating from kindergarden.”

“Oh! Congratulations!” Sara says. Eloise smiles. 

“Yeah!” Eloise says.

“Alright. Let’s go pick one out,” Sara says. Eloise and Ava follow her to the skins. 

Eloise starts examining every one extensively. Sara and Ava stand back and talk.

“So, my hard work paid off?” Sara asks.

“Yeah. She loves it,” Ava says.

“Well, I’m glad. I’m going to be retiring in a few days, so it’s good to do one last thing here.”

“You’re retiring?”

“Yeah. I’m going to be working as a consultant for movies and shows about weapons. They might also take me on as a stunt or fighting double.”

“Cool,” Ava says. “That sounds so fun.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a representative for the city.”

“That sounds pretty influential.”

“I guess. It’s mostly paperwork.”

“Auntie Ava!” Eloise comes bounding back. “I picked out a bear!”

“Did you, sweetie?” Ava says. Eloise shows her and Sara the skin of a blue bear with splotches of different colors. 

“That’s a very good choice,” Sara says seriously. 

Eloise beams. “I’m going to be naming her Ava Bava. After you.”

Ava’s eyebrows raise and Sara can see her forcing herself to smile.

“And I picked out clothes, too! I found a suit and dress shoes for her to wear, because she’s going to be just like you!”

“Aw, I’m honored,” Ava says. 

“Yeah. And she’s going to be a les-bear, just like you.”

Ava shuts her eyes in embarrassment. Sara keeps herself from laughing.

“She is?” Ava asks.

“Yeah! She and Sara Beara are in love!” 

Ava’s jaw drops for a second. 

“That’s nice, sweetie,” Sara says kindly. “I’m going to put some stuffing in her. You can pump the pedal if you like.”

Eloise jumps on the pedal before the bear is even close to the tube, but she doesn’t weigh enough to press it down.

Sara attaches the bear to the tube.

“Do you want her soft or firm?” 

“Hmm. The same as Sara Beara.”

Ava helps Eloise pump. Sara adjusts the bear and lets Eloise feel its arm.

Eloise compares it to Sara Beara, then nods.

“Now, do you want it to make a noise?” Sara asks. Eloise shakes her head. Sara can see a little of the family resemblance when she frowns a little.

“How about a scent?”

Eloise finds a disc labeled ‘Honey’ and hands it to Sara. “This, please.”

“Good manners,” Ava commends her. 

“Okay. You ready to give her a heart?”

“Yes, so she can love Sara Beara!” Eloise says. 

Sara hands her a fabric heart. 

“Okay. Now kiss it.”

Eloise kisses the heart, then hands it to Ava. Ava reluctantly kisses it too and gives it to Sara.

“You have to kiss it!” Eloise says to Sara. 

Sara obeys. 

“Okay. Now for the promise. Can you read?”

Eloise nods.

“So we are going to read the Bear Promise together. Do you know what a promise is?”

Eloise nods. “It’s when you say something and it’s true and you’re going to go by it forever.”

“Very good,” Sara says. “The promise is printed on the wall. Let’s all say it together,” Sara says, staring pointedly at Ava. Ava rolls her eyes but looks over.

“My bear is special,” Eloise starts. Ava and Sara join in.

“I brought it to life. I chose it, I stuffed it, now I’m taking it home. Best friends are forever, so I promise right now, I’m making this bear my number one pal!”

“That was very good, Eloise,” Sara says. “Let’s get her clean.”

Ava barely even rolls her eyes at the fake bathtub this time. 

Sara starts making a birth certificate and goes to the cash register.

Ava helps Eloise fill her name out, and Sara smiles when it prints. 

“Do you want another box?” Sara asks.

“No. They only need one home,” Eloise says. Ava looks embarrassed again.

“That’s so cute,” Sara says. She thinks of a discount to give them, and it takes ten dollars off Ava’s total. 

Sara prints out the receipt without asking Ava and finds a pen behind the desk. She scrabbles down her name and phone number before she hands it to Ava. Ava smiles when she sees it. Sara thinks her last day at Build-A-Bear went perfectly fine.


	3. Epilogue

Ava holds Sara’s hand as they walk into the store. Eloise skips in front of them, one bear under each arm. 

“Sara!” one of her old coworkers greets her. Sara smiles. 

“Hi. This is my girlfriend, Ava, and her niece, Eloise.”

“What can I get for you today?”

“We need a wedding dress and a suit,” Eloise says. 

Ava and Sara both look down at once.

“What?” Ava says.

“For Sara Beara and Ava Bava. They’re getting married.”

“They are?” Sara asks amusedly. Eloise nods. 

“Yeah.”

Sara goes and grabs the wedding outfits herself, since the displays haven’t moved. 

She hands them to Eloise, and Ava has to lift Eloise up to put them on the counter. Sara hands cash over. 

“So, who is going to wear the dress?” Sara asks.

“Ava Bava! She’s going to wear the dress and her dress shoes. Sara Beara is going to wear the suit and her pink heels, ” Eloise says. Ava looks taken aback. 

Ava carries the outfits while Sara drives. Eloise sits in the back talking excitedly about her plans to invite her friends to the wedding. Ava shakes her head a little, but Sara can see her smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did an amusing amount of research for this, and now I want a Build-A-Bear. I hope everyone enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> Right now I just want a Build-A-Bear.


End file.
